As we head to the end of another school year, students may be required to do some state testing. Each state, school or classroom might have different standards. If you have a student that needs a visual schedule or has test anxiety, you can set up a simple Visual Schedule using or First Then Visual Schedule HD app (also on Android).

With FTVS HD you have a few options: You can set a schedule that includes breaks. You can attach a timer with the exact amount of time the student has to complete a section. Plus, the schedule can be printed and placed on a desk if the device is not available.

Good luck students!

Add any amount of tasks to your schedule. 5 viewing options.

To set the timer: goto your settings menu. Select timer and choose entire event or each step. You also have an option to have sounds or no sound.

View of the timers on the schedule. They can be hidden by tapping the tab.

​Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for this year? Here at Good Karma Apps we are thankful for all of you! ​

Get your children involved with Thanksgiving using our apps! Our Apps can be used by anyone at any age. Below we are using our First Then Visual Schedule HD app and our Scene Speak app to show you some examples of how your child can help out with dinner and setting the table.

Life skills are so important for all children, not just those with special needs. Having a visual can help keep them on track and a reference to refer back to.

Using First Then Visual Schedule HD (also on Android) we are making a side dish and a dessert. You can have one schedule or break them down into smaller schedules. You can even do a grocery store list that can be checked off as you navigate the store.

Here we gather the ingredients and the necessary utensils. You can show turning on the oven or burner (adult supervision if needed). You have five viewing option on the app, choose the one that fits your child's viewing need. The check list is optional.

Gather the actual ingredients and take photos and measurement.

Show step by step instruction.

Five viewing options are avaliable for the iOS version of FTVS HD

Setting the Table for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time for friends and family to come together. Why not have your helpers set the table. You can use Scene Speak to show a place setting and use hotspots to name the items. You can also use First Then Visual Schedule HD (iOS and Android) to list all the item you will need to set a table.

you can list the items need to set the table. This is the iOS (apple) version.

Make your first image of the place setting.

Android version of First Then, you have three viewing options.

Three viewing options with check mark option.

Using Scene Speak App to set the table

Using our Scene Speak app you can upload a picture of the table or table setting. Add some hotspots with voice command. Make setting the table a success! :)

From our Families to yours - Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall back into school with Good Karma Apps!Whether you are homeschooling or returning to a classroom, I hope everyone is happy to get back to learning!

Back to school can be very stressful for some kiddos, especially those on the Autism Spectrum. The transition back can sometimes take a few weeks to a month. Some students have been back for a few weeks, but it's never to late to start using our apps.

One way to ease the transition is to use a visual schedule. Great for home and school. Customize with your own images, google images, take camera pics or use one of our many icons in the apps icon library.

The best part about our First Then Visual Schedule HD app, is you can make multiple schedules for home and school. You can even give the school staff a video tutorial on how to operate the app. One option for school or home is to make a "days of the week" list of schedules. Especially great for school so the student can know what events to expect for the week.

Give the school staff a video tutorial on how to set up a schedule.

Use a days of the week schedule system

We have added two new features to FTVS HD, now you have the option to delete your added photos to the image library. No more multiple same images!

We have also added a Dropbox option! This is a great way to save your schedules and to share between multiple devices or students/clients.

AND... the first three people to email support@goodkarmaapps.com will receive a​FREE FTVS HD app! Hurry... you have until September 29, 2016

​It's time to celebrate America's Birthday! Independence day is a great day to celebrate the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.

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Celebrating at home or away can become challenging for your kiddo or adult. Using a pre-written social story can help with anxiety and show the user what to do if certain situations arise. Using our Scene Speak app, on your ipad, you can customize your social story. Add any images, via internet search, camera or our icon library. Use "hotspot" that allow you to record your own voice and even have pop up text. Below are examples or scene displays that can be used individually or as an interactive story. Have a wonderful July 4th everyone!

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Start with a history of the holiday

List important safety rules

Use images and captions to explain safety concerns. Including food items.

Show images of fireworks and what to do it certain situations come up. Add as many as needed.

Explain water safety and what to do if you are lost. Include images of safe places and people.

Our apps can be used for everything from creating social stories about camping (and discussing safety precautions when out in the wilderness) using Scene Speak. Using First Then Visual Schedule HD to giving your camper step by step instruction on what gear to pack, campsite location, preferred objects to pack and bring, and meal items.

Social stories are pretty easy to create, can be as simple or complex as you'd like, and with the addition of audio hotspots and read-along text, the experience can be even more comprehensive for the individual using the app. Each individual page in the story can be an individual VSD, tailored to individual needs, and once each page is completed, they can be added to one big camping "book" within the Scene Speak app. If the individual tends to elope, this can be addressed within the social story as well.

Create a book using VSDs for your camping social story.

Safety measures can be enforced throughout the social story.

Anything requiring multiple steps can easily be translated to First Then Visual Schedule HD for easy reference, modeling, and to keep the individual on task. Setting up a tent is difficult for most people without some form of instruction. Try finding a step-by-step set of instructions online, then breaking those instructions up into steps. Use images to represent the steps, and pair audio labels if necessary. If there is a particulalrly tricky part of the process (you may want to perform a dry run at home before the trip!), adding a video for reference purposes also works well. This technique works well with just about ANY activity during camping, and can be fully customized to suit the specific needs and capabilities of the individual using the app.

Create a schedule for any activity that requires steps for completion.

This will involve the individual in the total experience, and can teach new skills at the same time!

The more structured and well-planned a camping trip can be, the better your loved ones/clients will fare on the trip...which will make for a really amazing experience for everyone involved. Our apps are designed to compliment one another in so many ways when used in conjunction with each other. With adequate support, your loved one/client will be able to be completely included (even if activities/tasks must be adapted) in the group/family trip. We love inclusion here at Good Karma Apps.

These techniques are great for assisting with Inclusive/Adaptive Scouting too! Happy camping!

Happy Earth Day!There are many ways to celebrate Earth Day using Good Karma Apps.Make a day of it! You not only do your part to save the planet, you learn life skills for the future.

Using First Then Visual Schedule HD :Our day starts with gathering all of the recyclable products around the house. Make a activity schedule showing which products are recyclable and then take them to the recycle center. You can sort the plastic, cans and glass once you are at the center. ​

Make an Earth Day Schedule of events.

List your day events and check them off as you go!

Make and Activity Schedule of recyclable products to pick and take to the center.

How about planting a tree or some flowers? Just like the recyclables, make an Activity schedule for the needed planting supplies. Then you can do a step-by-step planting schedule if need.

Make an activity schedule of needed items for planting.

End the day with a donation of out grown clothing. Make it a great Earth Day!Reduce - Reuse - Recycle, everyday is Earth day!

Learning to wash your face can be a hard task for someone with special needs. Knowing how much soap to use and where to wash can become overwhelming.

Using Scene Speak you can create a simple "face washing social story." Upload a picture of your child to make the scene more personal.

Choose "hotspots" to highlight the areas to wash.

Use different pages for pre and post washing steps. You can even use a "hotspot" for the amount of product to use.

Watch the scenes before the event, during and after. Talk about the steps and then follow up after with praise and reenforce what was just done and learned. Before you know it you will have an independent face washer.

Create a social story about washing your face.

Add hotspots and record text

Take a picture of your child and add hotspots along with numbers. This started as a laminated page and became a scene on the app. (The red dots are still useful so I kept them)

You can add hotspots to the products, indicating how much product to use.

Bathing or showing is sometimes difficult to explain in words, Independent bathing and showering can also prove challenging. By using a visual schedule, you can show your child or student that hygiene can be simple by following a step by step picture guide.

Using our First Then Visual Schedule HD app you can make a visual guide of products to use, parts to wash and best order of washing.

The email option will let you print and laminate your visual schedule so you can place in the bathroom without worry of a device getting wet and/or damaged.

** please note: do not take an ipad, iphone into the shower. Please use the email option to send a PDF to print out schedules.

Choose from 5 viewing options. Prepare the user prior to bathing by showing the steps.

To set a timer: goto the app settings menu. Choose the option that is best.

A timer can be set for the entire event or for each individual event. You can also add sound to the images.

First Then Visual Schedule allows you to send a PDF via email which you can open and print.1. Goto the settings menu on your device (the gear icon on the bottom right side of the screen) 2. Tap Print Schedule ﻿﻿3. Choose the schedule to export to a PDF﻿﻿﻿﻿4. Tap the email icon on the top right corner 5. Your email on the device will open. Enter the recipients email address and tap send

**NOTE: In order to be able to use this feature, there must be an available email account for the app to access in order to share the selected schedule(s).

In app settings menu: choose "print a schedule"

Once you choose "print a schedule" tap the schedule you want to print. Then tap the mail icon on the top right of the screen.

Add the recipients email address. Tap send. Note: you must have email set up on your idevice

This is the printed version of the schedule. You can then laminate if you desire.

They offer social narratives and a tour visual check list for those with developmental and learning difficulties and for those with autism. We have taken our First Then Visual Schedule HD (FTVS HD) and Scene Speak app and incorporated The Met information into Visual schedules and social stories.

With FTVS HD we made a visual schedule of the trip. Starting with a picture of the outside and entrance. Moving through to the coat check and ticketing process. Showing the admission sticker and where to place on clothing. Then we move into the tour. Here you can place the actual pictures of the exhibits or move over to a social story with Scene Speak. Breaks, lunch and restroom breaks can be placed into the schedule as needed. An event timer can be set to offer the student a count down of time spent at the location. You can also set individual event timers, but you may want to set a entire schedule timer incase of delay.

Use actual images whenever possible. That way when your schedule user gets to the location the images will match the actual locations. You can add as many steps as needed with FTVS HD (for idevices and android) and view in five different formats.

add as many details as possible. Adding a photo of the museum security officer is a great reference incase your student get separated from the group.

Sometimes alternate entrances can be useful. You can list them in your schedule.

I took those images and made a museum social story with text and recorded audio. I also made "hotspots" on images. You can make those "hotspots" into a fun game of guess the statue/painting. note : You can add "hotspots" on the fly.

The best part about using a social story is you can watch prior, during and after your visit.

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Make as many pages as you would like in your book

Add text and audio to any page

In Play mode you can listen to your recorded audio.

Add as many "hotspots" to any page. You can name each hotspot and record audio.

How wonderful that more and more places are making accommodations to include everyone. If you know a place, like The MET, that welcomes kids and adults with a range of abilities and learning styles, let us know. We are more than happy to help any museum offer visual schedules and tools to make the art experience fun and educational. Contact us @ support@goodkarmaapplications.com ​Find us on Instagram and Twitter @goodkarmaapps Facebook - Good Karma Apps

Start building independent typing in everyday life with your child or student using First Then Visual Schedule HD. (on apple and android) Take a simple schedule and start by using a whiteboard or pen and paper. You can write one word at a time and then move onto sentences. Build simple site words and hide part of the board for mastery and memory.Example: using the word "break".1. Write it on paper2. Let the student type the word by looking (hand over hand if needed) and finding the letters on the keyboard. Use all caps if easier. 3. Begin to turn the paper over after each letter is typed to put the word into memory. 4. Before you know it the word will be mastered and typed independently.

Start with one event and move on from there. With practice you will see the progress in no time. :)

Use a whiteboard to write individual words and set up app to the add event screen.